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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

INTERVIEW: Laidback Luke "Speaks Up" With Neon Tommy

Tanaya Ghosh |
March 26, 2012 | 7:12 p.m. PDT

Staff Writer

Laidback Luke's Super You & Me show at the Palladium was a superhero musical paradise. (LaidbackLuke.com)
Laidback Luke's Super You & Me show at the Palladium was a superhero musical paradise. (LaidbackLuke.com)
Before his set at the Hollywood Palladium, I sat down with Laidback Luke to talk about his childhood, his tour, and his guilty pleasures.

Of course, also being Neon Tommy's food editor, I was especially excited to discover that he enjoys cooking. Thus, at one point Luke and I engaged in quite a conversation about his love of cooking risotto and Indian food.

Amicable and fun-loving, the world renowned DJ from the Netherlands was animated and just plain fun to talk to at the W Hotel before his one-of-a-kind Super You & Me show.

 

TG: When did you know this was what you wanted to do?

LL: When I was 15 years old I found out that I could make music with a computer. I come from a musical family, but I was always the one that couldn't play an instrument as well as the others. So when I found out I was able to release the music that was always inside of my head through a computer, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

What's your earliest musical memory?

Actually, the first thing I did as a kid was coming up with my own lyrics! My dad used to listen to the Shadows, which is a surf band that only did instrumentals. So as a 4-year-old kid I was always making up my own lyrics to it.

Tell us the concept behind Super You & Me.

 In Europe, at one point, the electronic dance music parties became way too serious. I mean, people were really trying to be cool, and not really letting themselves go. I feel with Super You & Me, we should bring back that crazy, stupid fun you have with your friends. I mean, those are the best nights out you have as well. I really want to have that epic feeling of the night, where you are just standing there with your hands up (gestures with arms up), and you know, not only DJs should feel like the superhero, but I feel like the crowd should experience that as well. And basically I'm very much a fan of comic books and superheroes, so it's a good excuse for me to dress up as well as a superhero.

What's your favorite comic book character?

I used to be a very big fan of Spiderman and the X-Men.

Not so much Batman or Superman?

No no, I mean Batman and Superman is a different story, but yeah, very much Spiderman and X-Men!

EDM (electronic dance music) in the US has blown up only recently, compared to the UK and the rest of Europe. What are your thoughts on that?

Well the thing is, this happened in Europe about 10 years ago, and I've always waited and wondered why it didn't happen in the US and I'm happy it's finally here. It's so amazing, and I can safely say that America surpassed Europe at the moment with how big and how influential dance music is right now, which is amazing, I never thought it would happen.

Laidback Luke (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
Laidback Luke (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
Do you get a different response from the crowd when you play here in the US?

 Absolutely! I feel that in Europe, we've actually seen it all, done it all ten years ago. And over here, it's still so fresh, so new, and people are still so excited. Sometimes people ask me why so many DJs and producers are from the Netherlands. It's because the Dutch crowd has seen it all, and so when we play for them and we push it hard, they're like (in bored voice) "Oh, okay, yeah yeah, we get it." And over here, it's like (shouting excitedly with arms up) "Oh yeah! Let's do it, let's go!" So for us, that's fantastic. When we come here, we feel like Superman.

What are your favorite places to play, worldwide?

The countries that work the best for me at the moment are the UK and America.

Any standout memories or highlights?

That's hard, because I do about 200 shows a year, and I've been a professional DJ for about 15 years now. But Sensation White in 2005 was a highlight for me, and my first EDC as well, in the Coliseum.

Where do you see EDM music going 10 years from now? How do you see it evolving?

I am happy to say, and I can say with certainty, that dance music will be a genre like hip hop or rock music that isn't going to go away anymore. It will be widely accepted by everyone, you know? That's great, and at the moment it's still in development right now. With it blowing up in the US, all of a sudden we had the best hip hop artists and the best singers in the world collaborating. But with Skrillex winning all these Grammys this year, it's a whole next level again. So yeah, it's just evolving and we'll see where it goes, but the future is all set basically.

Speaking of collaborations, what was it like to work with Steve Aoki and Lil Jon on the amazing track, "Turbulence"?

It went really naturally, actually. Steve and I have been making tracks (together) for a while, just doing demos, and "Turbulence" was the best one out of there. The first demo, which we both tested on the floor, had Steve's voice in there, and he was just saying, "we hit turbulence." That was his lyric, and so Lil Jon heard it. He's a friend of Steve and he was like, "I wanna get on it" and he did it Lil Jon style, and so the rest is history. I've met Jon a couple times, and he's a really nice guy, and in real life he doesn't even talk like that (laughs). He has a normal voice, people!

...Just letting everyone know! So how do you like Los Angeles?

Oh, I love Los Angeles, and especially to perform here. The scene is so big, you have people from Orange County coming down, and the scene is so huge and it seems people are well-connected with the newest releases and what's going on. It's pretty impressive!

Do you have any dream collaborations?

A dream of mine would be collaborating with Justin Timberlake, for instance. He should be singing again, man, do a new album!

Justin, you heard it here from Laidback Luke!

Yeah! Some others, for instance someone like Timbaland or people like Daft Punk, whom I've looked up to for like ages.

Were they some of your earlier influences?

Absolutely. Yeah, Daft Punk would be the major one, and Timbaland as well, with his productions for Missy Elliott back in the day and Aaliyah, for instance, that kind of stuff.

Tell us about "Speak Up."

"Speak Up" is the next single featuring Wynter Gordon. This tour I'm doing now is the Speak Up Bus Tour as well to promote the new single. We're ready with new remixes, and we just saw the final video cut, which is looking amazing! Basically I'm the superhero, and Wynter captured me and she's interrogating me and she wants me to speak up. It's very exciting, there's a great buzz.

What's the concept behind the new track?

My concept of "Speak Up" was, having made that "Turbulence" kind of sound, I wanted to have something with a female singer as well, and "Dirty Talk," my remix, did so well on the floors (that) I wanted to have my own thing with Wynter Gordon now. So basically it's a cross between "Turbulence" and "Dirty Talk" mashed up into one track. We've been getting so many good responses from the EDM scene, and are very excited for it to come out.

What are some surprising songs we'd find on your iPod?

Oh man! One of my guilty pleasures is Maroon 5. I'm actually a big fan!

What's your favorite Maroon 5 song?

Yeah, sh*t, um now I forgot the title!

You can sing it! Or hum it?

I can't, I can't! It's the video with him dating the daughter, but wanting to date the mother as well (referring to the "She Will Be Loved" video).

What do you do to relax and unwind?

I do kung fu, and tai-chi as well. Especially the tai chi helps me to chill out. Kung fu keeps my body healthy, and whenever I head home, I'll cook. I just love cooking.

Laidback Luke, when he's not cooking. (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
Laidback Luke, when he's not cooking. (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
Oh, you cook! What do you like to cook?

Everything. I cook everything! 

So you're a foodie?

I guess, yeah. I just love to prepare food and eat good food.

What's your favorite dish to make?

Well, one of my favorite dishes is risotto. 

Lot's of stirring!

Yes, lots of stirring. But the end result is good, too. I'm half Asian, and most of the time I love Italian food too, and I feel risotto is the combination of the "riceyness" but with the pasta flavor of Italian food.

So that's your favorite dish to make; what's your favorite dish to eat, meaning you don't necessarily have to make it?

No, it's risotto as well! I do love Indian food a lot as well, and I cook Indian food too.

What Indian dishes do you cook?

I make a great chicken tikka masala, for instance, yeah! I do Thai green curries as well.

Super You & Me was truly super. (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
Super You & Me was truly super. (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
Do you have any rituals to get hyped before you perform? How do you prepare?

When I'm at the club, basically I have my little ritual where I get out my headphones and get out my little SD card, and most of the time I won't look into the crowd when I prepare my first track. Then when I'm ready, I'm ready to go.

How do you interact with the crowd? As a DJ that's a big part of it for you, right?

Totally. For me, it's very important that I feel very connected with the crowd. This is Super You & Me as well, so I am there to make a party with you. We're in there together, and let's do it together and have fun! That's basically my interaction. I do a lot of double L's as well, I have my own little Luke "gang signs" as well, and it's just fun (making L's with fingers, flipping them back and forth).

Any other upcoming projects?

Yeah, yeah tons of upcoming projects. The single after "Speak Up" is already done and all set to go, so let's see how "Speak Up" goes first. I have a ton of big collaborations set up for the upcoming year, too. I can't say anything else just yet, but you'll see!

Zedd dressed as Superman during his set. (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
Zedd dressed as Superman during his set. (Tanaya Ghosh / Neon Tommy)
During the high-energy show along with the talented Zedd, Congorock and GTA, fans stayed true to the Super You & Me theme by dressing up like their favorite comic book characters. It felt like a comic book musical wonderland with the costumed crowd throwing up their double L's, and the giant inflatable cartoon clouds and sun hanging from the Palladium ceiling.

Zedd, who rocked the crowd right before Laidback Luke, wore a Superman costume. Meanwhile, Laidback Luke dressed up by wearing the black mask from his recently released "Speak Up" video throughout his set.

Laidback Luke played a wide range of high energy music, everything from Madonna to Skrillex. The crowd went especially wild when he played "Turbulence" toward the end of the night.
The show went on for an extra hour due to daylight savings, a special treat for the crowd. Laidback Luke recently played at Ultra Music Festival and is currently still on tour, bringing his amazing beats and lighthearted personality to top venues worldwide.
The recently released "Speak Up" music video:
 
Also posted on Neon Tommy's Tumblr.

Reach reporter Tanaya Ghosh here or follow her on Twitter here.


 

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